


The Mysterious Boy and The Girl who loved Mystery

by Ulrich007



Category: Batman (Comics), Gotham Academy (Comics)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-17
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-06 11:50:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10334015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ulrich007/pseuds/Ulrich007
Summary: The "Ultimate Power Team" is back! Damian and Maps are starting to know each other more and both will find out they have more in common that it seems!





	1. A Letter

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! Before you start reading this fic I just want to let you know a few things:
> 
> \- First of all: Thank you for taking your time on reading this story! It's been a big while since I've wrote a fic and to be fair, this is my first fic in english. 
> 
> \- This leads to the second thing: my native language is Spanish, so I take some time on the translation because I start writing the whole chapter in spanish. This also helps me improve my english and if you may find some grammar mistakes, please PLEASE let me know, because this would help me a lot.
> 
> \- Third, I'm new in the Gotham Academy and specially the DamiMaps fandom but I love it so far. But if you find the characters not acting like they should, please give me some advice since I'm kind of new in this comic!
> 
> Now with that settled, please enjoy this story and have fun!

Being the son of a billionaire has a lot of benefits: For example, you can travel anywhere you want, have a butler that can attend you every time, buy whatever you want, be the heir of a great fortune and most importantly, be the center of attention after your own father. But for Damian Wayne, those things weren’t the most important; he was more interested in something else, which was to fight criminals alongside his father as the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin, protectors of Gotham City.

However, there was something that had been bothering his father for a while: It was the fact that Damian wasn’t very much of a social person. For Damian, the whole concept of friendship wasn’t something to his liking, and there were very few people who could actually keep up a conversation like for example the bat-family, his pets, or the titans. Bruce knew that his son had a difficult childhood being raised by the League of Assassins, but at least the bond that he had with Damian was in good terms, nevertheless he felt his son needed something more. That’s why Bruce decided to enroll his child in the prestigious Gotham Academy, so he could “interact” with people of his own age and build bonds with normal people.

What happened after a few days was that, upon entering the school, the young Wayne was expelled by the headmaster for confessing stealing some valuable objects of the academy. However, he actually didn’t do any of those things. Even though he admitted to being responsible, he was actually defending someone: A girl.

This girl was totally different from him on the personality aspect: Childish, great humor, creative, persistent, and sometimes stressful, but above all those things, she was someone with a passion for adventure. They were literally polar opposites, yet during that time together; they formed the “ _Ultimate power team”_ according to her. The only thing that Damian could remember from her was her last name: Mizoguchi. You could say that at least, from that place, she was his only friend. Sometimes Damian wondered how the girl was doing in the academy, and if she was away from any kind of danger.

During a quiet night in the Wayne Manor, Damian was a bit anxious. His father decided to watch on the streets of Gotham by himself, ordering his son to take a rest after spending many nights fighting criminals without a proper rest. Damian didn’t like the idea, but he obeyed the decision by staying in his bedroom, meditating peacefully until someone knocked on the door.

“ _May I come in?”_ asked a young voice that Damian recognized.

“What do you want _, Drake_? I don’t have time for your foolishness.”

_“I just wanted to check on you and talk for a bit, you know. Please?”_ said Tim while in the hall.

After a brief minute of silence, Damian sighted and agreed to let this person enter his bedroom. This guy was actually Tim Drake, known as the previous Robin before Damian and currently known by the bat-family as “ _Red Robin_ ”. Upon entering, the child offered him a seat on a chair near his desktop, and Drake accepted it. The relationship between them wasn’t the best. Ever since they met, both had a sort of rivalry to prove who was worthy to be Robin, until Tim finally agreed to give the mantle to Damian. The young Wayne since then always presumed and mocked everyone that he was the best boy wonder of all.

“Aside from bothering me, give me a reason why you’ve come here disrupting me from my meditation.”

“Hey, no need to act like that, _Damian_. Just wondering how you’ve been.”

“-tt- Good, now leave.”

“Wait, I also wanted to ask you something: Since when do you go around giving girls batarangs?”

“ _Excuse me_?” asked Damian by suprise.

_How did he know about that_? Damian remembered that back before leaving the Academy, he gave Maps one of his own batarangs, the same girl he defended and considered his only friend from that place. He gave it to her to use just in case she was in a dangerous situation. The young Wayne didn’t think she would use it so early, but imagined that sooner or later she was going to get into trouble with it. What Damian was worried about was how Tim had discovered this.

“How do you know?”

“It was quite easy to be honest. It’s not common to see a girl from the Gotham Academy throwing batarangs right into my face while I’m trying to investigate something very important.” Reply Tim with a smile.

“Maybe it was one of those random Batman fanatics. Those idiots have nothing better to do than make cheap copies of ours.”

“It wasn’t a copy, Damian. I checked it myself, and it was one made in the Bat-cave.”

“-tt-, and why do you assume I gave her that?”

“Because you entered the Academy days ago, and got expelled in the dumbest way possible.” Say Tim in a sarcastic tone.

“Listen, Drake: That girl dragged me into some stupid mess that day, and I was sick of staying in that boring place. Besides, we have thousands of batarangs; it’s not the end of the world just because I gave one to a stupid child like her as a reward for giving me a reason to get expelled.”

Tim went into a brief silence after hearing Damian’s answer. He didn’t seem convinced by it, and after thinking for some minutes, the previous Robin gave a mischievous smile while approaching and laughing a little bit.

“Reward for expelling you? Or maybe little Damian got worried for this girl and didn’t want something bad to happen to her?” said Tim.

“If you want me to kill you, you don’t need to bother me. I can take one of my swords and end your suffering.” answered Damian with anger.

“Alright, alright, take it easy. I’ll leave you alone…”

“Don’t tell my father any of this. I’m warning you!”

“Of course, I’m not gonna tell Bruce. If he finds it out, your time as Robin will finish up just as quickly as your time at the Academy.” said Tim as he was about to leave.

“Wait, Drake. Before leaving I have to ask you something.” said Damian.

“What is it?”

“ _Is she_ …alright?” asked Damian while looking somewhere else.

“Oh yeah, nothing bad happened to your friend. By the way, she has good aim. Why do you ask?”

“-tt- No reason…”

“You know, I think you should check on her. Who knows, maybe she misses you too.” said Tim as he left the room with a laugh.

“Good-bye, Drake.” replied Damian, before slamming the door with anger.

Why would he get worried for someone such as her? Tim and the other boys of the family could wish for something like that from the young Wayne just for the whole purpose to mock on him. For Damian, the only people that he truly cared for were his family and pets. However, Robin was curious with some things: How did Maps met Red Robin, and how was she doing right now? He started to think for a while. Maybe a simple message to find out how she was wouldn’t hurt anyone, but no one of the family should know about it, especially the boys. But how could he send that note if they never shared their phones before? It seemed that the only option he had left was the old fashioned one: A letter.

He sat on the chair near his desk, took a piece of paper with a pen and started writing whatever came to his mind first. He had trouble starting the letter. Choosing between a classic “ _How you’ve been?_ ” to even a formal “ _Greeting Miss Mizoguchi_ ” gave him some frustration, mostly because he didn’t understand why he couldn’t make a simple greeting. After that, he created the necessary sentences to end up destroying the paper with anger, due to some grammar mistakes, and messages without sense. Many hours later, Damian finally made the perfect letter according to him. He checked on it many times and decided to seal it but then he started to think: “ _Will Mizoguchi understand this?_ ” After all, now that he remembered, she wasn’t actually the most intelligent girl, and she was, well, quiet…easily distracted by everything. Damian imagined the girl throwing the piece of paper out of boredom and that angered him way more than before. So he decided to start all over again. This thing about making friends was something very annoying now that he thought about it.

After many hours of thinking and writing, Damian had finished with what he thought was the ideal letter for someone like her. He added the location of the Gotham Academy and to whom the message was for. Now he needed to place it on the mailbox until someone else opened the door of his bedroom: It was Alfred Pennyworth, the butler of the Wayne family.

“Dinner is almost ready, Master Damian.”

“Ah, Pennyworth, just when I needed your service. I want you to place this letter in the mailbox right away.”

“May I ask what made a boy of your age make this…letter? It’s something very unusual considering you have a cellphone and a computer.”

“The only thing you need to know is that none of the other boys can find out about this.”

“Is it a letter for your mother? If so, your father will not be very comfortable with this.

“-tt- It’s not for her. It’s for a…friend.” said Damian quietly.

“I beg your pardon? I didn’t quiet hear what you just said.”

“ _It’s for a friend_.”

“Oh how wonderful! And here I thought you would end up becoming a hermit just like your father!”

“-tt- Just do your job and leave me alone.”

“As you wish, I’ll put this letter in the mailbox right now.” said Alfred while leaving the room.

“And I also want a Caesar’s salad, Thank you.” said Damian before closing the door.

As Alfred walked down the aisles of the mansion, he became quite curious about the letter of Damian, wondering who the mysterious friend was. Suddenly, a wall opened and revealed a dark passage with a few lights illuminating a staircase. The butler was not at all frightened, for he knew very well where the passage was, and who the person who came out of that place was. It was none other than Bruce Wayne, owner of the mansion and secretly the masked hero, known as Batman.

“Alfred.”

“Welcome back, Master Bruce. I assume you had an interesting patrol tonight.”

“Just the usual. The villains are very quiet tonight. I’ll check on the main computer if they are up to something bigger.”

“Would you like some dinner then?”

“Sure, a little bit of food would be nice. How is Damian doing?”

“Now that you mention. I just checked on him and he seemed quiet…different.”

“It’s probably because I ordered him to rest tonight. I’ll talk with him later.”

“I doubt that’s the reason, sir. I think your boy is actually becoming more…mature.”

It was then that Bruce noticed the letter that his butler had in his hand. Curiosity entered his mind and he wanted to know what that was. It was not usual to see a letter considering that nowadays everyone was using cell phones.

“What’ve you got there?” asked Bruce.

“Well you see, Master Damian ordered me to leave this… letter, in the mailbox.”

“A letter? Let me see.” said Bruce while looking it over. “It says to Miss Mizoguchi with the Gotham Academy address.”

“Your son asked me to ensure that none of his brothers see this letter, so if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be leaving this in its proper place.”

“Interesting…”

“What is it, sir?”

“I know this girl; she activated the Bat-signal all by herself just to show me some…drawings.”

“I hope you didn't destroy the little girl's dreams, sir.” Say Alfred.

“…they were ok.” said Bruce. “I’ll go back to the cave to…investigate.”

“Investigate the villains or this new girl?” asked the butler.


	2. An Answer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mia "Maps" Mizoguchi feels bored in the Academy until she gets a letter from someone. What could it contain? Is it the location to a secret place? A diary of someone who committed a crime? See by yourself!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! First of all I want to say big thanks to everyone who send me comments or also gave me the kudos on the very first chapter! It gives me more motivation to write more chapters and make most of you pleased with my story so far!
> 
> I took some while on the translation and redaction so as I mentioned before: If you find a grammar mistake or anything releated with the characters personalities, please PLEASE let me know so I can change it!
> 
> With that said, enjoy!

A few days passed in the prestigious Gotham Academy and it seemed that nothing interesting was happening so far. And for Mia “ _Maps_ ” Mizoguchi, the interesting things for her were stuff related with the paranormal, attacks from strange monsters, mysteries that needed to be solved and most important, adventures along with her friends. But sadly, none of those things were happening right now. Instead, there were just the typical and boring classes about history, science and other educational stuff. The poor girl couldn’t handle it and whenever she had free time, she tried to hang out with Olive and the other members of the group, but sadly everyone seemed very busy or nowhere to be found and these things made her anxious and desperate to look out for something, since there was nothing else to do.

Spending the whole day in her bedroom wasn’t actually one of her favorite places to be, but at least it was there where she kept most of her memories of her past adventures and could remember the emotion she had back then. One of those memories that she kept in a very well state and much hidden was the _batarang_ that Damian Wayne, the son of the billionaire Bruce Wayne, gave it to her. Her friends knew perfectly that Maps was a very devoted fan of Batman, so far to end up activating the bat-signal just to show the dark crusader some drawings made by herself.

When there was nothing else to do, like in this case, Maps sometimes decided to practice her aim while using the item she got from the Wayne kid. Each day she was getting much better but she was more worried that the batarang didn’t break up. While she was practicing, someone started to knock on the door and Maps got scared for a second. She hid the batarang quickly under her pillow to answer right away, revealing that the one who knocked the door was actually none other than her older brother.

“Oh hey _Kyle_!” said a smiling Maps. “What an unexpected surprise! May I ask why you are here? Is it because your tennis practice got cancelled? Is it because your coach has disappeared and there is a mystery that needs to be solved and you need me?! Please say yes because I’m really really bored right now!”

“Whoa, easy there, Mia. None of those things happened.”

“Crap! I was searching for you guys everywhere and none of you were to be found! Being like this is killing me out of boredom!”

“Well, let’s see if this cheers you up in some way. I got this from the mail and it’s actually for you: It’s a… _letter_.” said Kyle with a bit of annoyance on the last word.

“A letter? That’s…weird. Is it a lost letter?! Does it have a treasure map or a secret location around the academy?!”

“Nope. None of that. It’s just a letter from a boy. From _Damian_ … _Wayne_?”

“Damian?” asked Maps surprised.

Maps started to remember the Wayne kid back from the last time they worked together: He was very mysterious kid who knew how to defend himself while making incredible moves, pretty _cool_ according to her. But those thoughts were quickly replaced as she also remembered how annoying and show-off he was in every one of the situations they both went. However, the girl admitted he was pretty awesome at saving her from being expelled from the academy, she considered that a great gesture of friendship and consequently considered him a friend. Not like the people of her group, but at least someone who could be called like that.

The youngest Mizoguchi stopped thinking for while on those things, going back into reality and see his brother’s face, which did not looked very comfortable while holding the so called letter. She took the object from him, sat on her bed and carefully started to open it.

“I thought you didn’t like that pretentious kid.”

“He sure is. But thanks to him, I’m still in this place.” said Maps with a smile.

“Wait. What? You never told me that…”

“Long story: He took responsibility and let himself getting expelled instead of me.”

“Wow. That sure is sacrificing for someone else.” said Kyle. “But that doesn’t explain why he send you a letter.”

“Is that a _bad_ thing or something?”

“No, well…I mean…the thing is that… it’s just weird coming from a billionaire kid like him to send something like this. And especially to someone like you.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Nothing, nothing.” said Kyle a bit nervous.

Kyle was partially right, it wasn’t normal for a kid like Damian to send a hand-written letter. But that’s what makes this interesting, isn’t it? Once the letter was opened, Maps started to read it carefully while her older brother started to take a look to see what was going on between these two. She noticed that and quickly hide the letter and showing a clear expression of disturbed with a little blush.

“What do you think you are doing, Kyle?” asked Maps angrily. “This is my letter! Is your name in here? I don’t think so!”

“Hey, I just…wanted to see what the letter has.”

“Do I spy on you when you want to go talk with Olive alone?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. You do that quite a lot now.”

“This is different! She is your _ex_ not so _ex_!” shouted Maps.

“Would you keep it quiet!?” shouted Kyle with a bright blush. “It’s complicated!”

“Just get out of here!”

“Fine! I’ll leave!” said Kyle before leaving and closing the door.

Why was his older brother so interested in seeing the content of this message? It’s not like it was a confession of a crime made by Damian or something. Kyle could sometimes be very protective on her and because of it, Maps sometimes was a little bit annoyed by it. But that didn’t matter anymore, now she was alone and it was time to see what the famous Damian Wayne had written to her. To her surprise, the written part occupied almost the entire sheet and she began to read with detail:

_“Greetings Miss Mizoguchi:_

_The reason why I write this letter is primarily because we did not have the opportunity to exchange phones the last time we met and secondly, you should actually feel worthy of receiving a message from me. There are very few people whom I consider sending something like this and to mostly dedicate my attention to them. I wanted to know how you’ve been and if you were still in that boring place called “academy”. If you wish, you can send a reply and I will personally write you another one soon._

  
_Sincerely,_  
_Damian Wayne_ "

Maps remained silent and stared at the letter for a few minutes with an expression of discomfort. At first, she wanted to throw the letter into the trash with great annoyance after seeing that Damian was, even in a letter, the same smug boy of before, but now he was showing an interest in knowing how she was. The girl was thoughtful for several minutes and did not know whether to respond with a new letter, until she look back the batarang that was hidden and watched to see every detail in it.

The memories of that adventure she had with him had been curious: She thought he was great but at the same time a big jerk, but in the depths of his being, he was someone who cared for people, in his own way of course. Maps did not realized until then, but when it stopped thinking about that adventure, it was already beginning to get dark. She felt that perhaps an answer wasn’t going to be bad after all. She smiled, sat in the ground and with pen in hand, began to write on a sheet of notebook a small letter, as well as drawing some things that came to his mind such as a small drawing of her or Damian playing happily and even an angry face of the Wayne boy:

_"Hey Damian!_

_It's funny that you write me in such a moment like this. Everyone is so busy and things are so boring around here that there is literally nothing to do! That reminds me one day that all my friends were so busy that I had to create a mystery so that we would have fun again but that's another story. Going back to what I wanted to say: You could say I'm fine, but right now I'm just really bored and I'd like to have fun with something or someone soon._

  
_P.S: Did you write so much for just wanting to know how I was? You sure are a very strange boy, Damian Wayne. I’ll let you my phone number in here!_

_Fondly,  
Maps Mizoguchi”_

And so, the girl obsessed with maps and mysteries sealed the letter and decided to deliver it to the post office of the Academy at a hurried pace. She left her bedroom and ran down the aisles and the outsides of the academy before they closed the main office, while dodging any obstacle or person. Maps already started to imagine how Damian would react and just by thinking of it, made her laugh and attracted the attention of anyone who crossed her path. One of those people who appeared to her was her best friend Olive, who saw her from a distance and without thinking; she decided to follow her until she reached her.

“ _Maps!_ What’s going on? Why are you in such a hurry?” said Olive as she tried to keep up with her friend.

“Nothing important, just going to send a letter to _someone_.”

“A _letter_? Is my very best friend hiding something that I should know?”

“Let's just say it's for a friend.”

“A " _friend"_?" asked Olive with a bit of mischievous voice.

"All right, all right, I'll admit it. A _billionaire_ friend.” said Maps.

At first, Olive thought that this “ _friend”_ of Maps was someone who was possibly beginning to fall in love with her or some sort of confession. But knowing her best friend, she knew that Maps wasn’t that interested in such subjects like love or couples. Her friend was more dedicated to the mystery, to the riddles and to Batman. At least Olive could see that Maps was in a good mood delivering the letter right about to be sent, very happy apparently. And that was what really mattered to Silverlock, seeing her friend happy.

“And who is this billionaire _friend_ of yours?” asked Olive.

“Damian Wayne.” answered Maps while putting the letter into the mailbox.

“Wait. Damian Wayne? _The_ Damian Wayne? The son of Bruce Wayne?”

“Geez, you are acting just like Kyle when he gave me his letter.” said Maps with a bit of discomfort.

“You mean Damian Wayne send you a letter _personally_ to you? Wow Maps, you really surprise me every day.”

“Yes, I’m actually surprised too! What kind of rich kid with so much money can’t even use a cellphone to send a message?” questioned Maps.

“I wasn’t talking about that but…now that you mention it, you’re quite right.” said Olive. “But what I meant is that I find surprising the fact that you caught the attention of one of the most popular kids in the whole city.”

“So? It’s no big deal. There’s only one person in this whole world that I would die for get some attention and that’s Batman himself! And maybe Robin. Yeah, he’s kinda cool too.”

“Well, so far you’ve gained the attention of the rich kid. Get used to it.”

“I guess. Hey, let’s go to the cafeteria, I’m hungry and I think its pizza time.” said Maps happily.

 

* * *

 

A few weeks later, on the outsides of the Wayne Manor, there was a boy waiting impatiently next to the mailbox in early hours of the morning, looking almost everywhere. It seemed as if he was looking for something or someone. Meanwhile, two young men were staring at the kid from a distance at the kitchen, wondering what Bruce Wayne’s son was doing. These two were actually Dick Grayson, known as the first Robin and actually called by the name of “ _Nightwing_ ”, while the other one was Tim Drake already known as “ _Red Robin_ ”.

“What do you think _he’s_ doing?” asked Dick.

“I don’t know, it’s… _weird_ of him to do this. Usually at this time he takes Titus for a walk.” said Tim while drinking some coffee.

“Don’t you guys think you should focus on more important things?” asked a voice far away.

Both Dick and Tim, old Batman's comrades-in-arms, turned to see where that voice came from and saw none other than Bruce Wayne himself, who entered into the kitchen with a tired look on his face, typical of him after spending a whole night fighting the most dangerous criminals of the city. Alfred, who was present at the place too, quickly began to prepare Bruce's breakfast as he did every morning.

“Long night, Bruce?” asked Dick.

“Crime never rest and you two should already know it perfectly.” replied Bruce with seriousness while taking his cup of coffee.

“Yeah, we know pretty much.” commented Tim.

“What’s going on?” asked the leader of the family.

“Master Damian has been at the door of the mansion almost all morning, waiting for some sort of… _delivery_ about something. He barely took breakfast and left.” said Alfred.

“All the morning?” asked Bruce.

“For several weeks.” replied the three of them.

“Well...I’ll admit it: The kid is pretty dedicated when he wants to.” Said Bruce with a smile.

A few hours later and with the older Robins gone from the mansion, Alfred decided to take a walk with Titus, one of the many pets Damian had around the place, since the kid seemed more focused on waiting next to the mailbox. Meanwhile, Bruce was getting ready for an important meeting with some of the executive directors of “Wayne Industries” so he needed to wear and look elegantly as he did most of the time during the day. However, he was very curious of the actual behavior of his own son and the reason behind it.

Once ready, Bruce decided to go downstairs to the main door of the mansion and watching Alfred returning from taking a walk with the dog. The butler started almost in an instant to get the limousine, ready to transport the leader of the bat-family to the Wayne Tower, while suddenly the main door open and Damian appeared, holding in one of his hands what it appears a letter. Once Bruce saw him, he decided to approach his son and Damian tried to hid the letter.

“Good morning, Damian.”

“Greetings, father.” replied the young with respect.

“Didn’t saw you during the breakfast today. Where you’ve been?”

“-tt- I was…waiting for _something_.”

“Waiting that thing you have in your hand? What is it?” asked his father.

Damian tried not to look suspicious. However, he learned not to keep any secrets to his family and less to his own father. Although he was a bit of embarrassed, he showed the letter that Maps send to him. The leader of the bat-family made a smile while his son just wanted to go back into his room.

“It’s a letter…from a _friend_.” said Damian while looking down. “If you’ll excuse me, father, I’ll go meditate in my room.”

“Right, of course.” Bruce answered with a little smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone liked this chapter! I'll take notes on every kind of comment to improve myself and also will try to post the next chapter soon!
> 
> Have a great day everyone!


	3. The First Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After getting Map's letter, Damian decides to give it a try and call her. Is it going to be great? Akward? See by yourself!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! I'm deeply sorry for not updating the story but I had a lot of trouble (mostly lack of inspiration) and also during the translation, my friend qu33n-of-pasta took a long time because of personal issues.
> 
> But here it is! Chapter 3! Hope everyone likes it and as always: If you find some grammar mistakes or if you feel the characters aren't well played just let me know!

It was time for the daily training at the Wayne Manor and Damian had decided to start his routine at the large gym in his house, practicing different areas to maintain an impressive physique for someone of his age: Starting with a few stunts, use of traditional weapons and even performing different types of martial arts, which he had learned from a very young age.

The current Robin always wanted to master his abilities the best he could, because he knew that, sooner or later, he would inherit the mantle of its father to become the new protector of Gotham. And for Damian, he wasn’t going to let any of his “ _brothers_ ” take that job, as he felt it was his birth right.

During one of the training sessions with the use of the wooden dummy, Damian stepped forward, and took a deep breath before he started attacking the object. His speed in each hit was fast and effective, just like his father. With the passing of the hours, it seemed that Damian would not stop until a voice that mentioned his name made him lose his concentration.

“I'm busy, _Pennyworth_.” Said Damian a bit bothered.

“Pardon the interruption, Master Damian. But I think you've been here long enough, and you should take a rest after almost spending three hours without resting. If you go on like this, you might faint because of so much effort.”

 “-tt- I do not need the advice of a butler.”

“No. But if you continue like this, this butler will not attend you when you drop to the ground because of the fatigue. And I doubt your father will let you use the gym for a while, when he finds out what you've been doing.” Alfred replied with certainty.

“Fine, you win Pennyworth. I'll go to my bedroom.” Replied Damian while he took a towel and left the room.

“Sometimes raising these younglings sure gives me a headache.” Alfred sighed.

Damian knew that Alfred wasn’t a bad person; everyone in the mansion treated him like a paternal figure and gave him their respect. It was like some sort of voice of reason during the most difficult moments for the bat-family and the things he said, no matter how hard they were, they had the best of intentions.

Once the son of Bruce Wayne came to his room, he wiped his face with the towel and lay down on his bed with a sigh of exhaustion, and then stared for a while at the ceiling. Being still was not very much his style, even though he took long times to meditate. He stood up again and saw on his desk the letter Maps had given him in response, Damian looked at the letter seriously and opened it again to read the message she gave him.

Since receiving the letter, Damian read the letter over and over again whenever he could, and stood there without doing anything. He saw the drawings and sometimes felt a bit angry when he saw how the face he had in the illustrations that made him look like an annoying monster and Maps like a cheerful girl making fun of him.

“-tt- This is ridiculous, I don't look like this at all.”

But what he saw with more attention was the last thing she gave him in the letter: It was her phone number. Was this the opportunity for him to socialize with someone “ _normal_ ” and have a new friend? Just thinking about it made him reconsider his options and turn back, but Damian Wayne would never give up on anyone, much less a girl who did scribbled mediocre sketches and acted in such a childish way. He kept the number on his personal phone and was ready to make a call but kept his finger near the call button. Was this really worth of it? He could confront thousands of criminals without resting and even willing to kill them, but he couldn’t make a call to a simple person and hold a conversation.

After some minutes, Damian finally decided to press the call button. He put his phone near his ear and began to feel nervous thinking what could go wrong with all of this, all while the phone sounded like the call was being made.

“ _Hello?_ ” Answered the voice of a girl coming from the phone.

As soon as that voice was heard, Damian hung up quickly and set the cell phone back to the desk and stared at it for several minutes. " _What a great first impression_." he thought with shame towards his first “ _normal_ ” friend. Maybe she would not take the time to call back to find out who called her and they could both go back to their lives. But what Damian Wayne didn't know was that, it was Maps Mizoguchi, someone who never gave up and sought to solve any kind problem or mystery. His phone rang again and took him by surprise, causing him to almost let it fall to the ground; fortunately he caught him in time and saw who was: It was _Maps_. Damian showed an expression of discomfort but he could not let a moment so embarrassing happen, he had to be brave, answer the call and face his destiny.

“Yes? Who am I speaking with?” Asked Damian as if nothing ever happened.

“Hello? I've been called with this number and wanted to know who it is.”

“I…well… I am…”

“Wait! Wait!” Interrupted Maps out of a sudden.  “Let me guess: Is this _Batman_? Please tell me yes and you're calling me to be your new Robin! Please! I even have my own Robin suit design! You're gonna love it once you see it!”

Damian stayed for a few minutes in silence. It seemed like Maps didn’t changed at all since the last time he see saw her at the academy, and that was a bit of a worry. And what makes things worst, she was thinking she was talking with Batman and showing a desire to replace the actual Robin.

“No. I'm not Batman.” Said the boy. “I'm… Damian. Damian Wayne.”

“Oh! Hey Damian!” Said Maps with happiness. “Ignore what I said before! I guess you received my letter then!”

“I did. It’s not like I get any letters so I got yours and…”

“Did you saw the drawings too?! What do you think about them?!” Asked Maps with excitement. “In my opinion, I think they all look great and are an accurate description of both of us!”

“...I do not agree with my description, at all. But I do admit that you look very childish.”

There was a brief silence from Maps after what Damian said. Maybe she was very offended and now she would hang up the phone? The son of the Bat put into the loudspeaker mode so he could hear the conversation better, while Maps seemed to still be online.

“As I suspected, you're still the same _smug_ boy that I remember.” Said the girl while trying to imitate Damian's voice but ending with a small laugh.

“Wait. Shouldn’t you be mad with that comment I just said?” Asked Damian.

“Why should I?”

“…Forget about it.” Said Damian. “I didn’t know if it was a suitable time to make a call or something.”

“At least you didn’t call me during classes. Although, I would rather go out and answer than continue to pay attention to my science class, there is nothing that catches my attention there.” Replied Maps with a boring yawn.

Damian forgot for a second that today the academy was having classes as any other house of studies. Being a boy raised by his relatives his whole life and not having gone to a school for a big while, made him felt in a certain way…privileged. This was because he felt that the educational centers did not contribute much and seemed more like prisons for the young people around his age. However, Damian knew that education was important and so he tried to make her realize that.

“Science is very important for every day. You may never know when you’ll need it.” Said Damian.

“Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, billion dollar boy.” Replied Maps while mocking him.

“I mean it. It’s like that time I gave you…you know, “ _that_ _thing_ ” in case you went into some trouble and needed to defend yourself.”

“What? Oh you mean the batarang? I still keep it!” Said Maps with emotion. “Can you believe that I’ve been practicing since you gave it to me? One time I met _Red Robin_ and I got so scared I throw it at him and almost got him!

“Really? I wished I was there to see that.”  Said the boy with a laugh.

 It would have seemed incredible to Damian that Tim Drake, the previous Robin, was beaten by a simple batarang throw and especially launched by an untrained girl like Maps. The kid wished he had been there at the time and with camera in hand to later show everyone and make fun of Tim as he knew how to do it, but at least he felt that, right now, he was having a good time. So much that even the girl noticed the laughter in the call.

“Are you _laughing_ right now?” Asked Maps.

“What? _Me_? -tt- No…of course not.” Damian replied next with a cough to hide the obvious.

“Yes _you did_ , Damian Wayne. I didn’t think a kid like you could laugh.”

“Why you say so?”

“Because I always imagined you to be like a super serious guy who never learned to laugh. How strange you are.” Commented Maps with a laugh.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

More laughter from Maps was heard and that made Damian feel the need to hang up the phone in a fit of rage. She seemed to be taking too much advantage of the situation and he could no longer accept this kind of shame. Perhaps this attempt to have a friend was truly a waste of his time. When he was about to hang up, Damian heard the voice of Maps again returning to normal.

“I’m sorry, I’ll stop laughing.” Said Maps.

“-tt- You better. I have other important things to do than listen to a girl making fun of me.” Replied Damian with a bit of anger.

“Really? Like what?”

“Well… _things_.”

“But what sort of…things?” Said Maps with more curiosity.

“You know…Billionaire…things.”

“You know, I've always wondered what the billionaires do with their lives: Do they bathe in pools with hundreds of dollars? Do they ask for expensive things brought from the other side of the world? Do they have thousands of cars?”  Maps asked excited.

" _Is this girl really a fool or what?_ " Damian thought after hearing such a childish questions. But at least he could admit that she was very curious about things in general, something he could took advantage of so he could know her more and vice versa, it was a good idea by Damian. He decided to answer those questions that Maps had given.

“No. Sometimes. And for the last one, yes. My father likes to collect a lot of classic cars.” Answered Damian with a bit of pride.

“And what about you? What sort of things do you like?” Asked Maps again.

“I like… _animals_.”

“Really? That’s cool! How many do you have?”

“I have a dog, a cat, a cow and also a…”

“You have a cow?!” Shouted Maps with surprise.

“Yes and don’t ask me how I got it, but I do have one.” Clarified Damian.

“Oh, the _mysterious_ boy does not want to explain to me how he got the animal. Someday I'll find it out.” Maps said with determination.

“-tt- I doubt it.”

“Well, changing the question to the mysterious boy, then: What sort of activities do you like to do?” Asked Maps again.

Damian was silent for a few minutes; he did not know what kind of answer he could give to her. Generally he liked to hang out with his pets, training in the gym as he had been doing a few hours ago and fighting any kind evil in the city. But he couldn’t say this last one to her, it was very risky and maybe she would tell everyone his secret. He obviously decided to try to hide things and make things up.

“Well... I like to go out and help people whenever I can.” Answered Damian.

“Really? You don’t look like the kind of kid who does that sort of thing. I always thought you were the sort of kid who likes to do extreme sports or martial arts…not that I was spying on you that last time.” Said Maps.

“And what do you like then, Miss Curiosity?” Damian asked like making a challenge to her.

“Excellent question!” Maps shouted with excitement. “I like mysteries, ghost, magic, adventures, making maps and one of my favorite’s things: _Batman_!”

That last word did not seem to have surprised him at all. Since the last time he had seen her, he gave her the lucky batarang and she reacted as if she got best gift in the entire world. However, he decided to play along and continue talking about the protector of Gotham, while Maps told him everything she knew so far, the Wayne kid was somewhat impressed that she knew a lot of things about the secret identity of his father and even seemed... admirable.

“And why do you like Batman so much?” Asked him.

“I dunno I guess I just like the way he beats up the bad guys and the many items he has for every kind of situation! I would definitely die if I have his belt on my hands!” Confessed Maps happily.

“-tt- It’s not that great once you get used to watch it many times.”

“Wait. Do you usually see Batman?!” Asked Maps with shock.

“Uh…no. What I was trying to say is that one day, I saw him in action and he used almost all his gadgets. No big deal.” Replied Damian a bit of nervous. “And…what do you think about _Robin_?”

“Robin? Well…”

The answer he hoped to hear from Maps was something like: “ _Robin is the best thing that could ever happen to Batman and especially the last one he has right now_.” Damian already imagined Maps saying how great he was, without knowing she was talking to the real boy wonder.

“I guess he’s _ok_. He gets the job done.” Said a joyful Maps.

“…You guess? -tt- Why?” Demanded Damian for an answer.

“Personally I think I would do better. I just ... don’t have Batman's attention…yet.”

“-tt- I doubt he would call you. A foolish girl like you doesn’t have the skills to become Robin.”

“Hey! Let me dream!” Shouted Maps with a laugh.

Damian laughed again while Maps admitted that her reaction was funny. In fact, the conversation had been so long and fun on both sides that they had not noticed that it was already night time, but the two young kids could talk more and more until one of them finally got tired, which seemed difficult because none of them wanted to end it. Suddenly, someone knocked at the door of Damian's room and then opened it, revealing that it was none other than his father, Bruce. His father noticed that his son was having a conversation over the phone and simply told him that it was time to " _go out_ ". Little Wayne understood the message; it was time to be Robin and fight criminals.

“Mia, I’ll need to hang up now.” Said Damian.

“Really? But we are having so much fun right now!”

“I have to help my father in some… _family matters_.”

“I see! The mysterious boy has to follow in the footsteps of the father. Okay, I will not stop you. Will we be able to talk again?” Asked Maps.

“Well…only if _you_ want to.”

“Great! Then just one more thing before you leave: Call me Maps from now on.” Said the girl happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I mentioned before, my friend qu33n-of-pasta had a hard time helping me with the final edition since she has a lot of personal issues. From now on, I'll do my best on making the translations way more fast so I can upload it here soon.
> 
> Big thanks to qu33n-of-pasta and again to labukelabu for lot of great ideas!


	4. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When all of her friends have already plans, Maps decides to go to the city of Gotham by herself until she finally meets again with her friend and his butler. What's gonna happen with these three? Check it out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!   
> First of all I would like to say that I'm really REALLY greatful to all of you for supporting this story and passing the 500 hits in here! This is so far the longest chapter and I hope all of you like it as I did and take your time for it!
> 
> Once again, if you think there are some grammar mistakes, please let me know so I can change it or leave your opinions about it! I will read them all and answer you as fast as I can!
> 
> With that settled, enjoy the chapter!

Sunday at the Academy. Usually a day for the students to rest and leave the daily routine that was between attending classes, having exams and in the case of Maps and her friends, solving mysteries. The center of studies gave its students the opportunity to go out and spend the day on the city of Gotham during the weekend.

Perhaps there was something interesting to find in the city today? Nobody would know. That’s why Maps decided to try that out and left her room to approach Olive's bedroom, known by many as her best friend. She knocked on the door and got no answer, knocked again and yet nothing. The girl wondered what was going on and decided to open the door to finally seeing her friend looking thoughtful through the window. It seemed like one of those days where Olive just wanted to be alone with her feelings.

“Hey Olive! Wanna go to the city today?” Said Maps.

“…To be honest, I don’t feel like it.” Replied Olive while still looking at the window.

“You _sure_? I’m gonna ask Kyle and the others if they want to come, too. Come on! I know you’ll like it!”

“Thank you, Maps. For real. But I think I’d better stay here to rest and just...think about stuff.” Said Olive with a sight.

“Alright then, Olive. Take care of yourself then!” Said Maps with a bit of sadness before leaving her.

“You too, Maps.”

Mizoguchi decided to turn to see her other friend, Pomeline, who was known within the group by her obsession with the things related with magic and mystic arts. Mia was just about to knock on the door when Pomeline suddenly open her door and walked out of the room, showing her typical expression of “ _not in the mood_ ” upon looking at Maps, as if she actually didn’t wanted to see the girl obsessed with riddles and maps at this very moment. Pomeline acted like this with almost everyone on the outside, but deep inside her, she was actually a girl who cared for her friends.

“Don’t you have anything interesting to do today aside from bothering me, Maps?” Asked Pomeline with a sight.

“As a matter of fact, _I do_. I’m going to the city right now! Wanna come?” Asked Maps with a cheerful smile.

“Sorry, hype girl. But I’m gonna pass on this one. Maybe next time.” Replied Pomeline.

“Why?”

“Going to see someone right now.”

“…You mean _Heathcliff_? Are you two back again?!” Asked Maps with excitement.

“None of your business, Maps! Now leave me or I’ll be late.” Said Pomeline with a little bit of stress before leaving.

“Tell him I say hi!” Shouted Maps.

Pomeline didn’t even reply to her friend, she needed to do other important stuff somewhere else and leave the place, making Maps the only person in the corridor until she went out, looking for someone else and in this case, it was going to be her older brother Kyle.  

She decided to take a look on the tennis courts since he was one of the main players of the academy, making him so popular, that a lot of girls of the place usually stayed for several hours just to see him in action. Indeed, Kyle was in fact practicing in a court; when the teacher suddenly decided to take a little break so the older Mizoguchi could rest. While he saw the girls, he was able to recognize his little sister, so he moved closer to her.

“Hey there, Mia. It’s weird to see you around here.” Said Kyle.

“Hey, Kyle. Are you going to be busy after this?” Asked Maps.

“Why you ask?”

“I’m going to the city to spend the day! Wanna come?”

“What about Olive?” Asked Kyle curiously.

“She is not coming. Not feeling good right now.” Replied the younger Mizoguchi with a bit of sadness.

“I…think I’ll just stay here… to keep an eye on her! Yeah, that!” Said Kyle with a bit of a blush on his face.

“Oh… _Sir Kyle: Olive’s Shining Knight_. I like that!” Said Maps with a laugh. “I guess Colton is the only one I can count on, then. Any idea where he is?”

“I have no idea. He is probably wandering around here. Anyway, I gotta go. Have fun at the city and don’t talk with strangers!” Said Kyle before going back to his training.

“I’m 14! Not a kid anymore!” Shouted Maps before leaving.

And so there was only one person left: Colton Rivera. A boy who, for most of the time, ended up getting into trouble but was always available to help his friends when needed. Colton had a talent for creating and fixing thousands of tools that were needed for any situation and that made him a very important member within the group. The younger Mizoguchi bet he would love to go to the city instead on staying here so she decided to look out for him around the campus.

Maps sought by all sides within the academy but without success, until she remembered something: Colton was punished all weekend and he probably was in the library, waiting for his punishment to be terminated. She went to the site to effectively find only to Colton with a teacher, both sitting and away while the student had an expression of extreme boredom while scribbling, or throwing paper planes all over the place.

“Colton!” Shouted Maps.

“Hey! Quiet! This is a library!” Replied the angry teacher.

“ _Sorry_!” Whispered Maps while getting closer to her friend.

“Hey Maps.” Said Colton. “What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for _you_ everywhere! I’m going to the city and I wanted to know if you were coming with me.” Asked Maps.

“What about Kyle? Is he coming, too?” Asked the guy with sunglasses.

“Well, he said he was staying here for…”

“I’ll pass. I better stay here anyway.” Said Colton with a sight.

“Really? Oh come on! It will be fun! Just use one of your special gadgets and let’s get out of here!” Shouted Maps.

“Miss Mizoguchi!” Demanded the teacher with anger. “If you want to keep talking with your “ _criminal_ ” friend, you can gladly join him as part of the detention!”

“Oh uh, you better leave now, you are going to get pretty bored in this place.” Suggested Colton.

" _Why nobody wants to go out today!?_ " Maps thought with anger after seeing everybody already had plans or didn’t want to go out with her to the city on a Sunday like this. The young student was getting desperate and she didn’t want her weekend to end by staying all day alone at the academy. After thinking it for some minutes, Mizoguchi took a decision: She was going to the city on her own. The young student took her bag and a bit of money she had saved in her room, then went to the bus stop and upon appearing the first bus, she went in and sit down, watching through the window while the bus was on its way to the city of Gotham.

The city looked totally different during the day; as it seemed to be a bit friendlier than it was during the night. Maps was looking through the window of the bus, as she was approaching to the city and the buildings became increasingly larger, full of companies or businesses such as restaurants, shops or anything you would find in any city and that, make her feel excited about it. After several minutes of sitting on the public transport, the bus finally arrived to the station and announced that this was the last stop and all passengers needed to leave. Maps went out of the station with a smile, waiting for having a great day walking through the city.

Gotham was perhaps best known for being the city of Batman, but it also had its own charm without the need to mention the Dark Knight. Maps become so accustomed to this place, that she knew most of the streets of like the back of her hand. She knew what places had the best foods or entertainment stuff. But still, she felt like some kind of emptiness while doing this and mostly, very alone. It wasn't the same without the company of her friends.

It was then time for a snack, since her stomach started to tremble demanding food. Maps pulled out a few bills, bought herself a hotdog and started to wander on the streets, looking at the urban landscape while taking a few bites; until she noticed a large building in particular, one that at the very top had a letter: It was a letter " _W_ " and just down of it, two simple words saying " _Wayne Enterprises_ ". She recognized by then that the building belong to the billionaire known as Bruce Wayne and it one of the most well-known companies around the country, perhaps even the world.

Whenever Mizoguchi and her friends passed by the Wayne Tower, she wondered what was going on in that place: At first, she imagined probably full of scientists doing crazy experiments or entrepreneurs who always went there to talk about business or things related to that. She also though about if one day she was going to be able to enter the building, without anyone noticing her, as she did at the academy. Just thinking about it gave her laughter and continued with her route.

Just when she was passing by the Wayne Tower to watch it closely, Maps noticed that a black limousine approached slowly, until finally stopping at the main door of the building. The driver's seat then opened, showing a well-dressed man with an apparent mature age going to the back door and open it. Once opened, an adult of great look show up. Maps could recognize that man in an instant: it was none other than _Bruce Wayne_ himself.

Followed by him, there was a boy almost identical to Bruce, but showing an expression of annoyance, as if he didn’t wanted to be on this very place. It was almost identical to his father in appearance as also on the style of clothes, that Mizoguchi could recognize this young one in a flash and with a certain joy: _Damian_. Just as Maps saw her new friend, she decided to call his attention and scream from afar, while the boy and his father entered the building next to the driver, who seemed to be not only the driver but as some sort of butler.

“ _Damian_! Hey!” Screamed Maps from afar.

Damian and his father heard the call and turned at the same time to see Maps coming with an obvious emotion towards them. Bruce was surprised, but also felt that this would be a great opportunity to see how his son interacted with a person of his age. Damian, on the other hand, only acted cool and tried to give the girl a handshake but with an obvious sign of discomfort on his face. Right now this wasn’t the best time to meet with someone like her and especially with his father right next to him.

“Hey Damian! It’s good to finally seeing you after so long!” Said Maps with joy.

“Hello… _Miss_ Mizoguchi.” Replied Damian like an adult.

“Miss? I already told you to call me “Maps”, remember?” Said Maps. “Oh I almost forgot! Greetings to you, Mister Wayne! It’s so weird to see you here and not on the Academy as I used to!”

“So you're the famous “ _Maps_ ”. Now I see why my son talks with you on the phone so much these days.” Bruce said with a smile and gave her his hand. “Now that I remember, you are also friend of Miss Silverlock. It is a pleasure to know that Damian is making new friends, despite the fact that he was…expelled from the academy.”

“The correct term is Olive’s " _Best Friend_ " but yes, you really do have an eye for the details!” Clarified Maps with emotion.

“Maps…what are _you_ doing here?” Asked Damian while trying to change the subject.

“Oh, taking my day off and decided to go walk around the city!” Replied Maps proudly.

“-tt- With your friends? I don’t see them around.” Asked Damian again.

“Nope, just me and myself!” Said Maps with a smile.

“Alone?! In a dangerous place like this?!” Said Damian with a bit of worrying.

Bruce and Maps got surprised by the way Damian reacted. The kid looked very serious, as if he wanted that she didn’t take the risk of having to come all the way by herself to a place as dangerous as Gotham. Maps on the other way simply took another bite of her food and then responded with total calm, completely opposite to Damian. Meanwhile Bruce noticed that his son was actually acting different as usual and specially around this girl.

“Hey, relax. It’s not like I’m going here at night and suddenly see the Joker or Scarecrow…now that I think about it that would be pretty cool!” Said Maps.

“No, of course not.” Replied Damian.

“And what are you doing here, then?” Asked Maps curiously.

“-tt- As future heir of my father’s company, it is a priority of mine to see and understand how the world of businesses is. I’m just trying to follow my father’s footsteps. You wouldn’t understand.” Replied Damian with some arrogance.

“Actually, son… now that I think about it: Why don’t you just go with her and take the day off? I’m sure you can take her to a nice place and both of you can have fun.” Interrupted Bruce with a confident smile.

“What?” Asked Damian in shock.

“Really?!” Asked Maps with excitement.

The thought of spending a whole day again with a childish girl such as Maps, make on Damian the need of having one of his swords on his hand and destroying any object or whatever was on his way, in a fit of frustration. But then, the kid saw the expression of his father, who seemed to be confident about it and it even looked as if he was giving him an order: _“Be normal and sociable around someone of your age_ ". After that, Damian saw the face of his friend and it was clear that she showed such an emotion like never seen before, perhaps this day was going to be pretty stressful for Damian, but for Maps it was going to be wonderful.

“-tt- Fine.” Said Damian bothered.

“Alfred will keep you both some company. As for myself, I’ll just stay here fixing some problems the company has right now.” Commented Bruce.

“I would love to see what’s inside someday, Mister Wayne!” Shouted Maps.

“… _Maybe_ one of these days, Miss Mizoguchi.” Said Bruce with a smile. “Anyway, it was a pleasure to finally meeting you and I hope Damian takes good care of you today, have a great day.” Said Bruce, before leaving everyone and entering the building.

“Your dad is pretty cool, Damian.” Said Maps with joy.

“I am just as cool as he is.” Replied the kid.

“ _Pfff_ , show-off…” Said Maps with a smile.

“So… where would you like to go, then?” Asked Damian with not much interest.

“Well…the truth is…I’m still hungry. I feel like I could eat a whole pizza for myself!”

“I know a good place. We can go there right now.”  Suggested Damian.

“Is it very expensive? Because I only have ten bucks left!” Maps confessed.

Damian became silent for a few minutes upon hearing the girl’s answer. By the look of it, she really was going to be a challenge for him, even if she wasn’t a supervillain. The son of Bruce Wayne did a little sigh and then told her to follow him up to the limo, while the butler only smiled at the funny situation.

“-tt- Just for this once, I’ll _invite_ you.” Said Damian with a serious mood.

“Great! Can I choose the ingredients?!” Asked Maps.

“Yes.”

“What about the pizza dough? Can I?” Asked the girl again.

“Yes…”

“And what about the drink?” Asked Maps once more.

“Would you please just shut up and enter the limo?!” Shouted Damian.

“This day keeps getting better and better!” Exclaimed Maps with such joy, that she threw what was left of the hotdog into Damian’s jacket.

The suit Damian was wearing got stained by all the sauces that Maps had put in her snack and by the look on it, they were going to be a bit difficult to remove while cleaning it. But the kid, instead of raging out loud, just gave another sigh of disappointment as he entered the car while Maps started to apologize again and again. On the other hand, Alfred decided to turn on the limo, while trying to endure the small laughter at what he witnessed.

“Wow! I’ve never been in a limo _this_ big as this one!” Exclaimed Maps with excitement.

“My father and I have several of these. No big deal…” Said Damian with his typical arrogant tone.

“Seriously?! You must have thousands then!” Said Maps again.

“We only have four of these, Master Damian.” Interrupted the butler with calm.

“-tt- Maps, let me introduce you to the person who just decided to interrupt me: This is _Alfred Pennyworth_ , he’s been the personal butler of the Wayne family ever since my father was a child.” Said Damian with education. “Pennyworth, this is Mia “ _Maps_ ” Mizoguchi and she is my…friend.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Mizoguchi.” Greeted Alfred with a lot of respect while he was driving.

“Hello Mister Alfred!” Greeted Maps.

“Please, just call me by my name.”

“Take us to the best pizza restaurant of the city, Pennyworth.” Ordered Damian with a snap of his fingers.

Just as he gave the order, Alfred sped up the vehicle and passed other cars between different lanes of the track with such a great accuracy and management. Maps was amazed of how easily the butler could drive, despite his advanced age and unlike other people. It was then that she started to look on Damian, who didn't seem to be as amazed as she was. He was sitting on one of the seats and looking through one of the windows with such a calm look on his eyes. The student was thinking as she watched him with determination: " _What kind of things will amaze the son of Bruce Wayne?_ ” Perhaps sooner or later she would discover that but for now, Damian noticed the look of Maps and he began to feel uncomfortable.

“You are quiet.” Said Damian.

“What? I’m sorry?” Replied Maps. “I was?”

“Yes. And it was weird.”

“Is just that I’m surprised of how good driver Alfred is and you don’t seem to be astonished at all!” Said Maps.

“It’s all because ofto the experience of serving the Wayne family for many years, Ms. Mizoguchi.” Alfred said with a smile.

“And I thought that Kyle was a decent teacher…” Maps said.

“Kyle?” Damian asked.

“Y’know…my brother. The one who attacked us because he was under the spell of the quill and you knocked him out…” Maps answered with a bit of still resentment.

“Oh yeah…I remember that. That was fun.” Damian said with a cocky smile.

“It’s not funny when you hit your brother…” Said Maps with anger.

“I disagree.” Damian replied once again with arrogance. “But anyway, you said he taught you to drive?”

“Yeah and it was…embarrassing. I had to use a golf cart while he taught me some stuff. Honestly he better as a tennis player than a teacher…” Maps confirmed with a laugh.

Damian stood silent for a moment upon hearing this last minute information. Was he supposed to make fun of her? Her older brother? Or perhaps both? He would probably pick the last choice by hearing something as stupid as driving a vehicle like that, but the kid decided to remain silent. Damian wanted tell his friend that he could drive a motorcycle, the bat-plane and even the bat-mobile with total ease but only when it was necessary. He knew that Maps couldn’t process all that information, let alone know that secret. Damian decided to simply follow the conversation, but also without leaving aside his pride.

“I’m…also learning how to drive.” Damian said.

“Vehicle?” Maps Asked.

“That and also a motorcycle…” Damian replied.

“That’s so awesome, Damian! Maybe you can teach me then!” Said Maps with excitement.

 “-tt- If you do everything I say, fine.” Damian agreed.

“I, Maps Mizoguchi, promise that I won’t do anything foolish and also obey everything my expert teacher says!” Maps promised with seriousness.

“I beg your pardon, Master Damian…but I think your father wouldn’t agree on this kind of situation, also considering the fact that you are “ _learning_ ” those things, too. If I may, I could help Miss Mizoguchi by giving her some driving lessons.” Alfred interrupted with such calm.

“-tt- Fine, do what you like, Pennyworth. But she will become your responsibility if something bad happens.” Said Damian with a bit of a bother.

“I understand. Oh, here we are!” Alfred announced.

Maps stick her face into one of the limousine windows to see what kind of place they had arrived: It was a hotel with skyscrapers so high, that it was almost impossible to say how many floors it had in total. Alfred turned off the engine of the car to suddenly open a door and let the two children out. Damian was coming down quietly and trying to look very formal, while Maps was just the complete opposite, unable to contain all kind of emotion.

 As they walked towards the entrance, Pennyworth just followed the teenagers a few steps back until the three of them took an elevator that would take them to one of the highest floors of the building. Finally arriving to their destination, the elevator doors opened and showed an elegant and modern restaurant with lots of tables completely clean and with all the details typical of an exclusive restaurant. Mizoguchi was losing her mind, getting excited about the lights and the atmosphere of the site, while Damian only approached to one of the waiters and told him he wanted a table for two and immediately the other employees were making the best table. Meanwhile, Alfred just stood still near the main door of the restaurant, thinking that this would be a great opportunity for the young lad to spend some time with his new friend. The butler decided to take a step forward and talked with Damian, while Maps was near and listening to the conversation.

“Master Damian, I’ll be at the door waiting till you both finish with your food. If you need me, just call me and I’ll be right there.” Alfred announced with calm.

“Alright, this won’t take long.” Damian replied.

“What? No! Alfred should join us too!” Maps shouted.

“ _Why?_ ” Damian asked with wonder.

“Because…he is a nice person and I don’t want him to be all alone! Besides, I want to know more about your family!” Maps explained.

“Alfred is just…my butler.” Damian answered with seriousness.

“He is! But he also raised your father during his whole life, right? That technically makes him part of your family, too! I bet there are some fun and interesting stories about it!” Maps explained her reasons.

Damian thought for a few moments and started to look at Maps, who looked innocent as if she desperately was asking for that simple request. Then, he looked at Alfred, who was somewhat surprised at what Maps wanted and gave an expression as if he didn’t mind accompanying them at all. The boy only gave a look of discomfort but then made a decision.

“-tt- What do you say, Pennyworth? You join us?” Damian asked.

“It will be my pleasure.” Alfred smiled.

The butler and the kids sat at a table and each one of them had ordered a pizza of their liking. As they waited for the food to arrive, Maps started to ask Alfred and Damian all kinds of questions while each one of the guys said an interesting or funny answer, which made the girl felt like she wasn’t having just a regular Sunday but Great Sunday. Once the pizzas arrived, the conversation didn’t stop just there and they continued with the talk.

“How is Damian according to you, Alfred?” Maps asked with curiosity, while taking a bite of her pizza.

“Well I must admit, Damian is the living image of his father. It reminds me the times when I took care of Master Bruce when he was a child and he got into lot of troubles.” Alfred replied with a smile.

“That was probably during the time dinosaurs existed.” Damian said with a bit of a laugh.

“May I remind you, Master Damian, that I’m not that old and I also taught your father a few fighting lessons back in those days.” Alfred commented.

“You know how to fight?!” Maps asked with surprise.

“Do I? Miss Mizoguchi, before serving the Wayne family I was a member of the Special Air Service and also a member of the UK Intelligence Service with honors!” Alfred informed.

“That’s so amazing! But don’t you kind of regret leaving all of that? You know the action and that kind of stuff?”  Maps asked.

Alfred thought for a moment in silence while he poured himself some food on his plate. Damian didn’t say anything, hoping to hear what his butler was going to say about whether he had any regrets about leaving that kind of life. However, both teenagers noticed that Pennyworth gave a small smile and then responded to Maps with all the honesty that only Damian and the Wayne family knew.

“I do admit that I had some unforgettable moments in there and was also present in some great fights. But when I came to serve the Wayne family, I realized that I made one of the most important decisions of my life so far. And when the young Master Bruce needed me most during his most difficult time, I was there and so far I still do.” Alfred replied with such calm while thinking of all the stuff that happened.

“…His most difficult time?” Maps asked wondering.

“He means the day my grandparents died. My father was an orphan from an early age.” Damian said with seriousness.

Maps stood frozen upon hearing that information. She remembered to hear a bit about that incident and it was not surprise, everyone in Gotham knew about that unfortunate event since the Waynes were one of the richest and most famous families in the city of Gotham for their contributions to the community and business success. Bruce was only a little child when he saw, in his own eyes, how his parents were killed by a common thief who just wanted to steal some money and his mother's pearl necklace. That moment would mark Bruce forever, making him a vigilante in search of criminals and one of the most well-known superheroes on the planet, but that was another story, one that few people knew about.

“I…think I shouldn’t have asked.” Maps confessed with a lot of worry.

“Don’t worry about that, Miss Mizoguchi. That’s all in the past now.” Alfred said.

Maps felt that she was bothering Damian with that kind of subject, considering that he was inviting her to the pizza and at the same time accompanying her on this day. Maybe it was time to change the subject for a more entertaining one.

“I bet you have some funny stories, Alfred! Tell me a few of them and if Damian is involved, the better!” Maps begged with a smile.

“Well…now that you mention it, there are a few ones: One day Master Damian and I played chess and I beat him three times in a row. He ended up almost destroying everything on his path. After that, his father punished him for all the mess.” Alfred laughed with this confession.

“-tt- I’m still waiting for my revenge, old man.” Damian replied while looking somewhere else.

“…And then there was the time I gave him a cat. Upon looking at it, he adopted it and called him by my name. Sometimes the cat sleeps with him on his bed.” Alfred commented with another laugh.

“That last part was not _necessary_ to mention, Pennyworth.” Damian said with a little bit of shame.

Maps was laughing at everything she was listening to, all these things changed the image she had of Damian completely: He was no longer the smug boy who always flattered to be just as great as his father or who could do martial arts as if it were the most normal thing in the world; now there was also the image of a boy who resented at things in such a childish way, such as losing a board game, to be someone very affectionate with animals. Maps started to like his new friend more with all of this; he seemed an interesting guy but above all, a great person once you knew him more.

The girl's laughter was contagious and Damian could not help himself until a certain moment that he too began to laugh at just remembering those anecdotes mentioned by his butler. Luckily the restaurant was empty and there was no one to interrupt two youngsters and a butler passing a moment of calm and fun. For Damian, this was a pleasant moment, it wasn’t like his moments of meditation or where he spent a moment with his brothers, he was a different one, but he sure liked it.

The day was ending and Maps knew what that meant: She had to go back to the Academy or she would receive a punishment for being late. Damian and Alfred then decided to help her with that and they took her in the limo, while they continued talking and having such a great time. Once they reached into the front door of the study center, Maps said goodbye to the butler who was in the driver's seat.

“Bye Alfred! I had a _lot_ of fun today!” Maps shouted with joy.

“Likewise, Miss Mizoguchi. I hope we can meet you again soon.” Alfred replied with happiness and with the same calm as he always did.

Meanwhile, Damian opened the door and went out, followed by Maps while Alfred watched everything carefully from the driver's seat. This was a moment that the butler didn’t want to miss at all.

“Well, here we are. This boring prison you call “ _Academy_ ”. Damian said with bad memories of it.

“It’s not that boring once you get used to!” Maps replied with a smile.

“…What do you think of it?” Damian asked.

“What do you mean?” Maps asked.

“-tt- You _do_ know what I mean: The restaurant, the stories with certain falsehoods that Pennyworth told and the ... pizza.” Damian explained while looking somewhere else.

“Oh! It was great! The best pizza I ever had!” Maps said with satisfaction.

“Excellent. Then we can confirm that your day wasn’t as boring as you thought.” Damian said.

“What's wrong? Got worried about trying to _impress_ me?” Maps asked in mocking tone.

“-tt- Child, do not make me regret all this time I spent.” Damian replied with seriousness.

“Relax rich-boy. It was an awesome day!” Maps commented with joy.

“Good, then take this: There were some pizzas slices left, so I took a chance to tell the restaurant to put them into a box for you to keep.” Damian said while giving her a pizza box.

“Once again you make the day much better! Thanks you, Damian! Let’s see each other another day or more often!” She shouted while leaving.

“…I guess so.” The kid said.

Now that Maps entered the Academy without any sort of problem, Damian watched quietly as his friend left and then he climbed back into the limo. Alfred lit the vehicle and decided to continue with their journey. The butler was proud of the boy: It seemed that the young Damian was, indeed, maturing and becoming a little more... _human_. The rich kid just stared at the window all quietly as the vehicle moved.

“Let’s go home, Pennyworth.” Damian said.

“As you wish, Master Damian.” Alfred obeyed.

“…You want to tell me something by your look. Go ahead.” Damian demanded.

“You know, Miss Mizoguchi was a very entertaining girl.” Alfred commented.

“She has potential to be my _friend_ …yes.” The kid said.

“You could say that both of you looked like… a very lovely couple.” Alfred said with some insinuation.

“-tt- I’ll ignore that comment, Pennyworth. As soon as we reach home, I’m going to patrol on the streets.” Damian said with some anger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope all of you enjoyed this chapter! Once again leave all your comments and if there are some things I can change, let me know!

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope everyone liked this first chapter so far. Every review or comment will be gladly accepted and will help me improve making more chapters! Until then, I'll post the next chapter in a few days!
> 
> Before end this note: Big thank you to Mellenabrave for giving me great info on the characters, qu33n-of-pasta for taking her time on helping me with some of the translation and labukelabu for giving me more ideas!


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